Bay Area Meet Up/Chicken Swap - Sunday October 10th!

[ChickenPotPie]

Quote:
Wow, 2 1/2 hours IS far. It only takes me 1 1/2 hours to get to SJ.

Where ever it is held, I'm sure it will be fun.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Okay, my family and I just got back from Cheryl's place and WOW!!! Seriously, WOW!!!

She's got the most beautiful house, backyard, coop, etc. and is the most amazing hostess. She mentioned they've hosted large weddings there and I believe it.

Her place is a little bit off the beaten path, but I think that adds to the feel of the event. I seriously think we should have this at her house... especially if nothing else is lined up. It's a pretty easy drive from most of the Bay Area.

There definitely isn't a way to please everyone 100%, but I think her location would accommodate most of those in the SF Bay Area.

Either way, the sooner we are 100% solid on the date, time, & place we can work on drumming up interest and people can plan accordingly.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Quote:

 

[jeremy]

I feel like the date we're all leaning towards at this point is Sunday October 10th.
Time, ?
Location, ? - possibly Cheryl's house. (I still feel like it's too far out though.)

I have a few more leads that I'm working on, including a site at the Oakland Zoo, they have amazing outdoor rental spaces that can hold large amounts of people.

 

[cherylcohen]

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You are so incredibly sweet, thanks so much and it was our pleasure having you guys for dinner, you have the most darling family.

As far as the meet-up. While it may seem like we are off-the-beaten-path we are actually only 2 miles from downtown Lafayette (just woodsy road to get here!)

Jeremy, I've seen this happen before when others have tried to organize these events. (poor OrpingtonManor-Steffanie! remember?) Lots of time is spent trying to please everyone that we get too close to the date and then only the people on this thread will get the word. In California because of it's size, we could probably have 6-8 meet-ups. If we think about a 20 mile radius from San Francisco, I think that is a reasonable trek for any of us. My $ .02

 

[jeremy]

Quote:
That does make sense. CA is huge, there's simply no way we can accomodate everyone.

 

[sequoiacyclist]

I agree with Cheryl. The date and location can't be the most convenient for every one. If people want to go bad enough they'll either reorganize their schedules or drive an extra couple of miles to be there. If not they simply won't show up. No big loss! Regardless of where you decide to have the event it is going to be a long drive for me and I am ok with that.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

If we still had 3+ months until the event, I'd suggest we set a deadline to have alternates presented and then a deadline to decide on a location. If we can't find alternates by the first deadline we just go with the solid one we have (Cheryl's). If we have alternates and can't make a decision by the second deadline then we go with the default, Cheryl's.

With all that said, we're a little over a month away from the weekend of 10/9 which will be right around the corner before we know it. I suggest we expedited the process above:

If we don't have an alternate location that most can agree on by 9/9 (which should be plenty of time to scout and decide) then we'll agree to have the Bay Area Meetup at Cheryl's house in Lafayette the weekend of 10/9.

Then we'll have 12 months to plan another location for next year.

 

[jeremy]

Rob, this is why you're the brains of the operation! I think that sounds like fantastic plan.

I've reached out to the director of the East Bay Parks & Rec, of course I didn't speak with him directly but via voicemail, so hopefully I'll hear from him soon. I'm sure he'll be able to let me know whether or not there is a park in our area that will allow chickens, if not then Cheryl's house it is!

Cheryl do you mind if folks bring pets to your place? Specifically dogs. I know you have 2 beautiful Labs and I wanted to see if they're dog friendly. I've got a Corgi puppy who will be just over 6 months at the time of the meet and he LOVES to play with anything four legged. What do you think about others bringing not only their feathered but their furry friends as well?

 

[cherylcohen]

hmmm, dogs..... I think might be a bit much. My dogs are dog friendly for the most part, but we've not had too many dogs they didn't know, come to "their" house! At first glance, I'd say I'd rather keep it to fowl or other caged animals, rabbits, ducks etc.

I'm just going to throw this out there....yikes throw tomatoes if you wish! Would it be possibly better if the date were October 2nd, saturday? (just for personal reasons)